


From This Day Forward

by bunilicious



Series: "To Have and to Hold" / Norman Conquest Reylo [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Devoted Reylo, Domestic Reylo, F/M, Fluff, Happily Ever After, Married Reylo, Morning Kisses, Reylo - Freeform, Reylo Baby, Smut, Smut and Fluff, but it stands on its own too, imagery hoe, pregnant rey, reylo au, sequel to "To Have and to Hold"
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-14
Updated: 2019-12-14
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:41:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21792433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bunilicious/pseuds/bunilicious
Summary: Everyone had told him that it would be impossible for her to love him.After all, on the day he met Lady Rey, he was covered in her uncle’s blood as he laid claim to her family’s home.He’d been a conqueror in the eyes of his men, but in hers he was an invader. A Norman dog, as she’d called him the moment he had her brought before him to surrender her stronghold.Everyone was wrong.----------------A REYLO MEDIEVAL AU
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Series: "To Have and to Hold" / Norman Conquest Reylo [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1570399
Comments: 80
Kudos: 583





	From This Day Forward

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Atchamb7](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Atchamb7/gifts).



> For Atchamb7, who is a wonderful and talented friend. I hope I did your prompt justice.
> 
> This is a sequel to "To Have and to Hold", my first Reylo fic (link here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15354933/chapters/35629989). It stands on its own, however. :) Hope you enjoy.
> 
> Thank you to the amazing Robyn for beta-ing!!

\--

  
  


Everyone had told him that it would be impossible for her to love him.

After all, on the day he met Lady Rey, he was covered in her uncle’s blood as he laid claim to her family’s home.

He’d been a conqueror in the eyes of his men, but in hers he was an invader. A _Norman dog_ , as she’d called him the moment he had her brought before him to surrender her stronghold.

Everyone was wrong.

As Ben’s knuckles gently brushed against his wife’s cheek, his thoughts strayed to their hasty marriage - imposed as it had been by the king to secure the lands they’d just claimed - marvelling at how far they’d come since then.

Somehow, as the months went by, they’d grown closer and closer despite the circumstances of their union, as if bound by an invisible thread that refused to break. At first, it was difficult to explain the way his heart pounded whenever she spoke - even if her words were insults designed to provoke him. 

She was breathtaking in all her fury; defiant, strong, and unwilling to allow anyone to treat her as anything other than an equal.

It was no wonder he fell in love with her.

Watching her sleeping form, Ben’s hand strayed lower, resting his palm briefly on her shoulder before he replaced it with a kiss. Her lips curled up in a smile, as if she could sense him, yet her eyes remained closed, blissfully asleep. 

All the while, daylight seeped through the drawn curtains, bright despite the heavy snow outside. Comforted by the warmth within, he kissed her again, this time on the side of her neck, eliciting a contented sigh. 

Beyond the castle walls, winter reigned, fierce and unyielding as on the day he married her. He could still remember that morning in vivid detail; particularly when he told Rey that she would be the one to decide when to consummate their marriage. Naturally, she laughed in his face and taken his horse, leaving him behind to walk along the road which linked the church and the new keep he’d conquered with fire and swords.

“Ben,” he heard Rey murmur in her sleep, and he was quick to bring her closer to his frame, nestling her back against his chest as she let out a calming breath.

After their wedding day, six months passed. 

Six seemingly endless months in which he longed for her presence and smiles, though he could not blame her initial hostility towards him. After all, despite his growing feelings, he was still a stranger to her, the man who’d conquered her home and kept it at the king’s orders.

He was an outsider, a thief - and he could only hope that Rey would come to see him as something else if he gave her the space and time to look deeper. If he showed her that, despite the circumstances behind their meeting, she had nothing to fear and no freedom to lose.

In the end, much to Ben’s relief, she did look deeper. 

At him and at herself. 

An injury he’d incurred on the field of battle triggered something raw and primal within her, and when he’d come back from the ordeal - scarred, yet very much alive - everything between them had changed.

Smiling to himself, Ben allowed his hand to journey downward, past the swell of her breast until he reached her belly and splayed his palm across her warm flesh as he’d done every day for the last couple of months.

A powerful kick greeted him, and Ben's smile widened at the unmistakable proof of their love which lay nestled in its mother’s womb. Shifting, he kissed Rey's bare stomach, right where his palm had been. Thoughts of their lovemaking filled his mind anew, another blissful and passionate night to add to the many they'd shared and cherished over the months. 

He peppered her belly with a series of kisses, brief and tender, but just as loving as the lingering ones he gave her when she was fully awakened. 

Then, with a satisfied smile, Ben rested his head on the pillow, waiting for the unmistakable sound of rustling sheets.

It did not take long.

“What time is it?” he heard Rey ask, her voice adorably groggy.

He pressed his lips against the crown of her head, kissing her gently. “Does it matter, my love?”

Letting out a small yawn, she curled against him, her behind brushing against his groin. A soft laugh left her own lips, and he knew right then she could feel his hard length - the proof of his endless need. “I can think of other things that matter more at this moment,” she said.

“Rey,” he warned her, though he could not help the amusement in his voice. 

Even in the final month of her pregnancy, his wife was, simply put, insatiable. To say he delighted in it all was an understatement. Sinking inside her warm opening was pure bliss, and he could think of nothing better in those moments than the gentle hitch of her breath when he entered her, or the small and delightful moans she let out whenever his arousal brushed against that spot that made her toes curl. Or the moment when she finally reached her peak and her entrance fluttered against his length, triggering his own release.

Her hand slipped behind her, stopping only when it brushed against his shaft, fingers caressing him ever so slightly. “I want you,” she said, the words simple, yet so powerful they left him almost speechless - despite the many times she'd uttered them before.

Even now, on the second anniversary of their wedding day, he could not believe how fortunate they were. 

Their world was ruled by alliances, and marriages had no room for anything other than money and power. They were transactions meant to further a lineage that others could use for their benefit.

But their marriage, Ben pondered as he slipped inside her heat… their marriage could not be more different. Happiness washed over him as it always did whenever her inner walls accommodated his length, as if they were destined to fit together just right. 

As his hand went up to cup her breast, he began moving, taking her from behind and relishing in the small moans which filled their bedchamber. His lips brushed against the side of Rey’s neck, kissing her until she angled her head in such a way so that he could capture her lips, warm and pliant as he swallowed one of the moans he loved so much.

They moved at a slow pace, knowing full well that they had all the time in the world, their mutual arousal building up steadily until they both peaked, whispering each other’s names.

Then, when it was all over, he wrapped his arms around her anew, resting his palm on the swell of her belly, caressing it as their unborn child kicked.

  
  


~*~

  
  


Two days later, his son was born.

He came into the world kicking and screaming, with a thatch of dark hair that resembled Ben’s own. As he looked at the sleeping infant nestled against his mother’s chest, Ben was certain he resembled Rey in every other way - a serene expression that only his wife could possess.

“You can sit beside us,” she said from the comfort of their bed, resting her back against a mountain of pillows he’d ordered to be brought up just for her. “Don’t be afraid, husband.”

Her tone was light and teasing, as if she hadn’t labored for hours to bring a new life into the world.

Swallowing heavily, he stepped forward until he reached his side of the bed and sat down beside her, his eyes shifting from his wife’s countenance to that of their newborn son.

Her eyebrows furrowed as she spoke. “It’s all over now, Ben,” she said, her voice low enough so as not to wake their child. “We are both fine now.”

Letting out a deep sigh, he nodded. Their bedchamber was cleared of all traces which indicated that a birth had taken place - water basins and towels were immediately disposed of and sent to be cleaned, and the sheets were changed as a pair of handmaidens tended to both mother and child.

All he could do was stare helplessly as the door opened and closed, waiting impatiently to catch a glimpse of the two suns which now brightened his entire world.

“I cannot imagine a life without you, Rey,” he said at last, tucking a loose curl behind her ear before his gaze went over to rest on their son’s face, watching his even breaths.

To say he’d worried for their wellbeing was an understatement. 

Often times, childbirth was as much joy as it was sorrowful. While he risked his life in skirmishes and rebellions, Rey fought a war of an entirely different nature - yet one that was just as dangerous and deadly.

However, despite his concern as he’d stood by her bedside in those crucial hours - unusual for men in this world, he knew that all too well, but he was never one to succumb to old customs - Rey had prevailed. Their son had prevailed as well.

“You don’t have to,” she assured him, flashing a wide smile just as the infant stirred in her arms, the first sign that he was awakening from his nap.

She soothed their son with her soft voice, placing a small kiss on his forehead. “Do you want to hold him?” she asked, tilting her head to look into Ben’s eyes.

He could only nod, his heart pounding furiously with the realization that he’d never done this before. 

In the flurry of activity following the birth, the midwives had all but tossed him out of the bedchamber, doubtlessly annoyed at having been subjected to his constant panic while Rey writhed and pushed. 

He could not blame them. 

In retrospect, Ben imagined he must have been far more concerned and frightened than his wife had ever been. And he was not even the one who was supposed to give birth in the first place.

“Don’t be afraid,” he heard Rey say and, as if by magic, a sense of peace washed over him.

She placed their son in Ben's arms, guiding him how best to support the infant’s neck. 

“There,” she said, withdrawing her hands and letting her palms rest against her stomach. She was the picture of serenity, clad in a white nightgown that contrasted heavily with her unbound hair. “That wasn’t so hard.” 

Nodding, he glanced down… just as his son opened his eyes. 

A glimpse was all it took for Ben to fall in love for the second time. It was far too early to tell if their son would inherit his dark eyes or Rey’s hazel orbs, but that did not matter in the least. What mattered was that they were all here: together.

His son regarded him with curious eyes, and Ben was almost certain he saw the ghost of a smile etched on the infant's face. 

“He’s perfect,” he said, placing a small kiss on his son’s forehead, careful not to disturb him before he looked into Rey’s shining eyes. “You’re perfect.”

All other words seemed to fail him in that moment. 

When he’d waited outside their chamber, his mind was filled with words of praise and love for his wife, but as he held their child in his arms, the words remained lodged in his throat, as if they could not do her justice.

The corners of her lips went up into a knowing smile. “I know, Ben,” she said, her eyes twinkling with mirth. “I know that face and what you are trying to say.”

“You do?” He raised his eyebrows. “How?”

“You say it to me every day,” she replied with a shrug, as if she’d given him the answer to the easiest question in the world. “Thank you.”

And he would continue to do so, of that he was certain. After today, it was easy to imagine them twenty years from now, just as in love as on the day they’d first confessed their feelings for each other.

“Often times I wonder what I did to deserve you.”

"The answer could not be simpler." Heat bloomed across the apples of her cheeks. “You were simply yourself, dear husband.”

He blushed as well. The peace Rey enveloped him in still lingered, mixing with a feeling of utter gratitude and relief. He was blessed, without a shadow of a doubt, to find himself the father of a strong and healthy child - and the husband of a resilient and clever woman who’d taught him how to live anew.

Both had come from broken homes - from families who perished before their time and valued legacies and fortunes over affection and understanding. And, despite it all, they’d somehow found each other, thrust at first into war, and then into an uneasy peace that blossomed regardless of the odds.

Their love had grown, allowing them the chance to build a family of their own.

Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes, and they would have spilled had Rey not brushed them away. “Oh, Ben,” she murmured, yet her voice shone with affection.

“I should be the one taking care of you, Rey,” he said, glancing up to look at her face. “After all, you are the one who brought our child into the world.”

Her eyebrows went up, as if he’d said something surprising. “We both should take care of each other, Ben. Isn’t that what we swore on the day we were wed?”

Ben nodded at that. “To have and to hold, from this day forward…” he said, repeating the vows that bound them. “We’ve come so far, my love.”

“We have,” Rey confirmed, tilting her head up, the invitation clear.

He kissed her lips, her cheeks and the tip of her nose. Then, she responded in the same fashion, kissing each one of the moles that dotted his face - lingering a few seconds longer on her favorite one - before claiming his lips at last.

“And we have a long journey ahead of us, dear husband,” she assured him after they parted for beath. Then, to prove her point, her hand went up to stroke their son’s head. “This is only the beginning, you know.”

Smiling, Ben nodded his gaze travelling between the two most important people in his world. “I know,” he replied, heart overflowing with joy. “And we will savor every moment of it.”

He leaned forward then, capturing her mouth in another kiss as daylight seeped through the window pane.

  
  


FIN

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this brief story. If you did, please let me know via your comments and kudos! I wish you all a wonderful day! Thank you to my beta, Robyn!


End file.
